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(BaseballStL) – Adam Wainwright joked that the only thing he wasn’t pleased with Monday was the fact that he only went 2 2/3 innings in his spring debut.

“The goal is nine, right?” Wainwright said.

The always-competitive Wainwright actually went further than the two innings he was penciled in for his first time out. He cruised through the first two frames in just 22 pitches, earning himself an extra inning.

But Wainwright showed signs of fatigue in the third inning after making quick work of the first two. He allowed a single and a double and hard hit foul ball that would have been a home run but went just foul before being pulled after 48 pitches in 2 2/3 innings.

The right-hander allowed four hits and no runs and had three strikeouts.

“I felt good about it,” Wainwright said. “The ball came out nice. I moved the ball around. I saved my breaking balls for the most part. I used my changeup like I wanted to. I was happy with it. It was a good place to start.

“I was just trying to be efficient out there and make pitches and get ahead in the count early on and work from strike one forward and hopefully you go longer than two innings if you do that.”

Wainwright will make five more starts this spring before starting Opening Day in Arizona on April 1.

Everyone loves Adam Wainwright - but is it a good idea to give the 31-year-old just one year off Tommy John surgery a long term deal? Share your thoughts.